After restructuring his campaign in recent weeks,
The Hill reports that presidential candidate Jeb Bush faces high stakes at Wednesday night's third Republican debate on CNBC. Even supporters believe the Florida governor needs to have a strong performance to build momentum and instill confidence back into his campaign.
"Jeb's in a little bit of a viscous cycle," said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak. "The media are writing about how bad things are, which impacts donors, which impacts media. He's got to find a way to break that cycle."
Despite front-runner Ben Carson and real estate mogul Donald Trump being center stage at tonight's debate, the Hill reports that after campaigning in Houston this past week, Bush can still emerge victorious as his campaign highlighted its deep establishment support and financial strength.
"This debate won't focus so much on process and gotcha moments and will be more about substance, which plays to Jeb's strengths," said Al Cardenas, a close Bush confidant. "We'll see how the other candidates stand up to questions that require more depth."
In recent weeks, Bush and his campaign have expressed sharp and unapologetic tones at the fact that Trump has been dominating the race, honest outbursts in which the Hill reports could "win or lose a debate for a candidate."
"If this election is about how we're going to fight to get nothing done, then I don't want anything, I don't want any part of it," Bush said at a forum hosted by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on Saturday. "I don't want to be elected president to sit around and see gridlock just become so dominant that people literally are in decline in their lives. That is not my motivation. I've got a lot of really cool things I could do other than sit around being miserable, listening to people demonize me and me feeling compelled to demonize them."
However, Bush supporters aren't expecting a change in his tone and are confident that he will be able to turn his campaign around.
"He answers every question thoughtfully, more than most politicians," said Slater Bayliss, a Bush bundler who attended last weekend's event in Houston. "It's favorable contrast. Most voters see Trump with this bombastic, incendiary style, while Bush displays great humility.
I wouldn't expect the volume of the governor's remarks to be amplified, that's not who he is. But he's getting better at every debate and people will turn to him because he's serious about the issues, and they'll realize you can't rely on someone who trades in sound bites and gets their foreign policy from the Sunday shows to lead the country."
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